Ella Eastin Discusses ‘The Stanford Taper’ (Video)

^{Reported by Lauren Neidigh.}

WOMEN’S 800 FREE RELAY:

• NCAA Record: Stanford, 2017, 6:45.91
• American Record: Stanford, 2017, 6:45.91
• Championship Record: Stanford, 2017, 6:45.91
• 2017 Champion: Stanford, 6:45.91

1. GOLD: Stanford, 6:46.93
2. SILVER: Michigan, 6:50.03
3. BRONZE: Cal, 6:50.83

Erika Brown is already on fire with a 1:42.39 leadoff split for Tennessee in heat 2. That’s over a second faster than her previous best from the leadoff at SECs. The Vols went on to smash the Pool Record in 6:52.12. Meghan Small was also sub-1:43 in 1:42.45 on the anchor leg.

The Pool Record went down again in the final heat. USC’s Louise Hansson got the Trojans the early lead in 1:42.71, with Stanford’s Katie Drabot narrowly behind in a lifetime best 1:42.99. The Cardinal’s Ella Eastin roared to a 1:41.13 on the 2nd leg, while freshman teammate Brooke Forde put up a 1:42.94 on the 3rd leg. Katie Ledecky dominated the anchor leg for Stanford in 1:39.87, but it was Louisville’s Mallory Comerford who put up the fastest split of the field with a 1:39.14 on the 2nd leg.

• Ledecky’s Splits: 23.26/25.12 (48.38)/25.77/25.72 (1:39.87)
• Comerford’s Splits: 22.95/25.45 (48.40)/25.33/25.41 (1:39.14)

Michigan wound up 2nd with a speedy 1:40.49 from Siobhan Haughey on the 2nd leg and a 1:42.31 anchor from Gabby Deloof. Cal rounded out the top 3 with a 1:41.64 from Katie McLaughlin on the 3rd leg. The Bears also had sub-1:43 splits from Kathleen Baker (2nd leg- 1:42.78) and Amy Bilquist(anchor leg- 1:42.63).